Written Answers Wednesday 12 January 2005

Scottish Executive

Debt Management

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what analysis it has undertaken of the efficacy of its debtline pilot in Fife.

Malcolm Chisholm: Independent consultants were contracted in 2002-03 by the Department for Trade and Industry to perform an evaluation of National Debtline, including the pilot call centre in Fife.

  Their findings concluded that, due to low levels of demand for the Fife service and other factors, a central National Debtline would provide a more effective and efficient service to Scottish callers.

  As such, the Fife pilot was withdrawn on 31 March 2003, and services transferred to the central National Debtline operation in Birmingham.

Discrimination

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what activities its Education Department has engaged in to address homophobia in the last year and how it intends to proceed in this regard over the next year.

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-12362 on 1 December 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Environment

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice or guidance it provided to (a) the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and (b) Scottish Water in respect of the burning of waste-derived fuel at Longannet Power Station.

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice its solicitors provided to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and/or Scottish Water in respect of the burning of waste-derived fuel at Longannet Power Station.

Ross Finnie: The Executive did not provide any specific advice or guidance to either the Scottish Environment Protection Agency or Scottish Water in relation to the burning of waste derived fuel at Longannet Power Station.

Environment

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it will hold with (a) the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and (b) Scottish Water in respect of the burning of waste-derived fuel at Longannet Power Station.

Ross Finnie: Although my officials may have discussions in due course with the two bodies about the implications of the legal judgement, the Executive does not intend to hold any specific discussions with either the Scottish Environment Protection Agency or Scottish Water in relation to the burning of waste derived fuel at Longannet Power Station.

Equality Strategy

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the spending stream "Promoting Equality" under the level 3 heading "Closing the Opportunity Gap by Providing Routes out of Poverty, Ensuring Equal Opportunities and Supporting Active Citizenship" in Draft Budget 2005-06 will be used for.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Promoting Equality budget funds the mainstreaming equality work of the Executive and the delivery of the equality strategy. It supports promotional and delivery work on disability, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion and faith, refugee integration, age discrimination, older people and violence against women.

Fire Service

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when its further consultation on the future of fire control rooms is expected to begin and conclude.

Hugh Henry: Work has already begun, but I cannot give a definitive timescale for its completion at this stage. We will take as long as necessary to ensure that we have examined all the issues raised in the responses to the consultation.

Football

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time football development officers there are in each local authority area and what their salary costs are, broken down into those employed by (a) it, (b) a local authority, (c) the Scottish Football Association and (d)  sportscotland.

Patricia Ferguson: The information requested is not held centrally. No football development officers are employed by the Executive or  sportscotland.

Housing

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to require that grants from Communities Scotland provide new houses that are not only affordable to rent or buy but are also affordable to heat, light and maintain.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Ministers are committed to providing good quality, sustainable and affordable housing for all.

  Specifically in relation to Communities Scotland, grant recipients are required, amongst other things, to demonstrate that they have effective policies in place to minimise the average annual energy costs in the homes receiving financial support from the agency. For example, in 2003-04 the average annual energy cost in new build properties funded by Housing Association Grant was £150, the corresponding figure for 2002-03 was £169.

Housing

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many new-build units were developed in each year since 1980 by housing associations or co-operatives, or their agents, and were funded in full or in part by (a) the Housing Corporation, (b) Scottish Homes and (c) Communities Scotland.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  The following table gives details of the number of units approved through Registered Social Landlords by Communities Scotland, and its predecessor organisation, since 1989-90.

  

Year
Housing Association Rent and Low Cost Home Ownership Units Approved


1989-90
4,170


1990-91
4,500


1991-92
4,784


1992-93
6,556


1993-94
6,569


1994-95
6,360


1995-96
6,725


1996-97
4,581


1997-98
3,752


1998-99
4,067


1999-2000
4,682


2000-01
4,944


2001-02
5,183


2002-03
4,119


2003-04
5,189



  Note: Data prior to 1989-90 are not available.

Justice

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what training is given to sheriffs to deal with cases where the accused represents himself or herself.

Cathy Jamieson: The Judicial Studies Committee, who are responsible for training of the judiciary, have published guidance to sheriffs on handling of cases involving accused who represent themselves. This information is available to all on the committee’s internet website www.judicialstudies-scotland.org.uk . Handling of cases involving self-represented accused persons also features in the skills courses which serving sheriffs undertake.

Livestock

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it defines an agricultural animal and whether this definition includes equines.

Ross Finnie: There is no definition of "agricultural animal", however, the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1968 defines "livestock" as "any creature kept for the production of food, wool, skin, or fur or for use in the farming of land or for such purpose as the Minister may by order specify."

  The Welfare of Farmed Animals (Scotland) Regulations 2000 defines "animal" as "any animal (including fish, reptiles or amphibians) bred or kept for the production of food, wool, skin or fur or for other farming purposes."

  Equines would only be included in these definitions if they were kept for the production of food or were used to work agricultural land.

Migration

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-12479 by Tavish Scott on 7 December 2004, whether it will express the figures in the first table, the Number of Persons Living in the Rest of the UK (outwith Scotland) who Lived in Scotland One Year Before the 2001 Census, as percentages of the population of each local authority.

Tavish Scott: The information is provided in the following table.

  Number of Persons Living in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, who Lived in Scotland One Year Before the 2001 Census, by Local Authority of Previous Residence and Age Group, Expressed as a Percentage of Population of that age Group in that Local Authority Area

  

 
0-15
16-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65 and over
Total


Aberdeen City 
0.82
2.78
2.85
0.93
0.56
0.32
0.12
1.26


Aberdeenshire 
0.84
2.12
1.32
0.76
0.57
0.46
0.23
0.84


Angus 
0.81
2.47
1.91
0.75
0.29
0.27
0.22
0.85


Argyll and Bute 
1.83
3.49
2.68
1.81
0.86
0.74
0.57
1.57


Clackmannanshire 
0.58
1.55
1.03
0.47
0.17
0.22
0.07
0.55


Dumfries and Galloway 
1.09
3.86
2.16
1.02
0.70
0.48
0.44
1.18


Dundee City 
0.65
2.53
2.10
0.61
0.29
0.17
0.16
0.92


East Ayrshire 
0.53
1.94
1.36
0.44
0.34
0.21
0.13
0.64


East Dunbartonshire 
0.47
2.19
1.61
0.50
0.40
0.12
0.19
0.69


East Lothian 
0.63
2.73
1.28
0.55
0.35
0.19
0.12
0.70


East Renfrewshire 
0.60
2.56
1.88
0.50
0.32
0.19
0.17
0.77


Edinburgh, City of 
1.13
4.88
3.88
1.20
0.53
0.39
0.27
1.87


Eilean Siar 
0.84
2.13
1.61
1.21
0.67
0.30
0.17
0.87


Falkirk 
0.36
1.36
0.87
0.42
0.20
0.10
0.12
0.46


Fife 
0.81
2.87
1.79
0.79
0.39
0.23
0.18
0.94


Glasgow City 
0.62
1.97
2.10
0.68
0.35
0.24
0.20
0.92


Highland 
0.82
2.34
1.83
0.80
0.56
0.51
0.33
0.92


Inverclyde 
0.42
1.24
0.96
0.46
0.22
0.20
0.10
0.48


Midlothian 
0.71
1.72
1.76
0.41
0.30
0.15
0.21
0.70


Moray 
2.70
4.82
4.44
2.39
0.81
0.51
0.24
2.21


North Ayrshire 
0.51
1.98
1.12
0.46
0.34
0.28
0.19
0.63


North Lanarkshire 
0.48
1.04
0.86
0.38
0.21
0.15
0.09
0.46


Orkney Islands 
0.52
2.63
1.35
1.04
0.85
0.64
0.68
0.97


Perth and Kinross 
1.07
3.60
2.33
1.18
0.60
0.48
0.33
1.19


Renfrewshire 
0.42
1.86
1.28
0.47
0.36
0.17
0.19
0.62


Scottish Borders 
1.25
3.81
2.31
1.05
0.80
0.57
0.43
1.25


Shetland Islands 
1.52
2.79
3.05
1.58
0.92
0.58
0.32
1.50


South Ayrshire 
0.80
2.51
2.00
0.84
0.45
0.22
0.26
0.88


South Lanarkshire 
0.50
1.36
1.05
0.56
0.23
0.18
0.16
0.55


Stirling 
0.71
3.46
2.36
0.96
0.61
0.40
0.16
1.16


West Dunbartonshire
0.40
1.29
0.98
0.45
0.33
0.16
0.20
0.52


West Lothian
0.57
1.21
0.99
0.59
0.38
0.22
0.21
0.60


Total
0.76
2.52
1.96
0.77
0.43
0.29
0.22
0.94

Pensions

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many early retirement packages were granted to chief executives and officers at director level in each of the 12 local authorities which participate in the Strathclyde Pension Fund in each financial year since 1999-2000, showing the cost of such packages in each authority, broken down by the level of seniority of staff receiving each package.

Tavish Scott: The total numbers of early retirements in respect of all local government employers participating in the Strathclyde Pension Fund for the years 1999-2000 to 2003-04 are given below. However, it is not possible to break them down into specific local authorities, by cost per package or by seniority of staff, as that level of detail is not held centrally. That information may be available from the authorities themselves.

  

Year
Numbers of Early Retirements


1999-2000
387


2000-01
318


2001-02
386 


2002-03
525


2003-04
365

Refugees

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review the Scottish Refugee Integration Forum Action Plan.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive will be publishing a second report on the implementation of the Scottish Refugee Integration Forum Action Plan during spring 2005. This will take account of any changes in priorities since the action plan was published.

Regeneration

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it first highlighted the possibility of developing a National Planning Policy Guideline for Clyde regeneration.

Malcolm Chisholm: As part of the vision to 2025, the National Planning Framework identifies the Clyde Corridor as an area in the Central Belt where major change is taking place. The Glasgow and Clyde Valley Structure Plan approved by the Scottish ministers in 2002 identified the Clyde Waterfront and the Clyde Gateway as priorities for regeneration and renewal. Regeneration of the Clyde is therefore being addressed without the need for a National Planning Policy Guideline.

Scottish Environment Protection Agency

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding was provided to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in each of the last six years, showing year-on-year percentage changes.

Lewis Macdonald: The amount of Grant-in-Aid provided by the Executive to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) over the last six years together with year-on-year percentage changes is shown in the following table:

  

Fiscal Year
Cash Grant-in-Aid(£ Million)
Year-on-Year Percentage Change


1998-99
19.836
 


1999-2000
18.600
-6.2%


2000-01
17.300
-7.0%


2001-02
23.470
35.7%


2002-03
25.980
10.7%


2003-04
29.953
15.3%

Scottish Environment Protection Agency

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of income was generated by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, independent of its central grant, in each of the last six years, showing year-on-year percentage changes.

Lewis Macdonald: The income generated by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) in the last six years, independent of Grant-in-Aid from the Executive together with year-on-year percentage changes is shown in the following table:

  

Fiscal Year
Receipts from Fees and Charges and other Income(£ Million)
Year-on-Year Percentage Change


1998-99
10.725
 


1999-2000
13.752
28.2%


2000-01
16.836
22.4%


2001-02
17.530
4.1%


2002-03
18.523
5.7%


2003-04
20.233
9.2%

Smoking

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any European country where the government has been successfully prosecuted for breach of Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) because of a smoking ban covering private clubs and function suites.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Executive is not aware of any such successful legal actions against the government of any other European country for breach of article 8 of ECHR arising from a smoking ban covering private clubs and function suites.

Social Inclusion

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the spending stream "Promoting Social Inclusion" under the level 3 heading "Closing the Opportunity Gap by Providing Routes Out of Poverty, Ensuring Equal Opportunities and Supporting Active Citizenship" in Draft Budget 2005-06 will be used for.

Malcolm Chisholm: Promoting Social Inclusion is used to fund a range of activities which contribute to the Executive’s cross-cutting Closing the Opportunity Gap approach for tackling poverty and deprivation.

  These include:

  pump-priming activities such as the current Fresh Start project, which provides mentoring to encourage lone parents to improve their employability

  the Closing the Opportunity Gap Fund from 2006-07- details to be announced in due course

  a contribution to the Changing Children’s Services Fund- improving services for vulnerable children (£5 million per annum over 2005-08)

  programmes for promoting Financial Inclusion, including:

  the Credit Union Capacity Fund - to develop credit unions and increase credit union membership, implementing the Credit Union Action Plan (£1.1 million for 2005-06)

  Money Advice- free, independent and impartial advice for people who find themselves in debt and other financial difficulties (£3.5-4.3-3.6 million over 2005-08)

  research, poverty data, and other supporting activities.

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to directly fund projects previously funded by social inclusion partnerships (SIP) that do not receive funding from community planning partnerships.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive has no plans to directly fund former SIP projects from the Community Regeneration Fund (CRF).

  The new Community Regeneration Fund has combined and replaced both the Social Inclusion Partnership Fund and the Better Neighbourhood Services Fund from April 2005 and will be allocated to Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs). CPPs will be required to set out how they are managing the transition of projects and services in their Regeneration Outcome Agreement.

  Where CPPs decide continuation of funding of former SIP projects is no longer appropriate, CPPs have been advised to consider whether they should sustain such projects using mainstream resources, funding from other programmes or whether time-bound exit strategies should be used.

Water

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it currently allocates for the water pumping operation at the site of the proposed Blindwells New Settlement in East Lothian that prevents the flooding of surrounding villages.

Lewis Macdonald: This is an operational matter for Scottish Water.